blog

Is Buddhism a Religion?

By Matthieu Ricard on May 28, 2009

That's a question the Dalai Lama's frequently asked. His usual reply is to joke, ‟Poor Buddhism! Rejected by religions as an atheistic philosophy, a science of the mind; and by philosophers as a religion—there's nowhere that Buddhism has citizen's rights. But perhaps that's an advantage that could allow Buddhism to build bridges between religions and philosophies.”
In essence, we could say that Buddhism is a path of transformation toward enlightenment, a contemplative science, and a rich philosophical tradition from which a wisdom applicable in every instant and in all circumstances is derived.